Ternus pushes Federighi to speed up Apple's AI and target an agentic Siri in 2027, Bloomberg reports

Apple CEO John Ternus has pressed software chief Craig Federighi to accelerate Apple's AI roadmap and build an agentic Siri, moving beyond merely fixing the assistant, according to Mark Gurman of Bloomberg in his Power On newsletter of Sunday, November 8, 2026.

According to Gurman, Ternus urged Federighi in a closed-door meeting in recent weeks to "accelerate" the software roadmap. The CEO, who took over on September 1, 2026 after Tim Cook, is reportedly frustrated by what he sees as a reluctance to embrace AI with the same urgency as rivals. Apple has not commented on the report.

Federighi runs iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS and visionOS, as well as Apple's core AI work, including foundation models, Apple Intelligence and Siri. Gurman describes him as an AI skeptic, with concerns about the technology's privacy, security, societal and employment implications — and points to a clash of horizons: while hardware plans years ahead, Federighi's software group plans only 12 to 18 months ahead.

An agentic Siri as early as 2027?

Gurman also reports that Apple could make Siri work more like an agent as early as 2027: an assistant that keeps track of a goal and works through the steps on its own, without the user starting each step. That is a bigger leap than another round of fixes — and the direction Ternus reportedly wants.

The known timeline adds context: Siri AI shipped in beta with iOS 27 on September 14, 2026; on November 3, Apple opened Siri AI to developers in the iOS 27.3 beta; iOS 27.3, expected in December, should bring Siri control of Apple's own apps, and third-party app support would follow in spring 2027.

Record research spending

Ternus is not asking for speed on a tight budget: Apple's annual 10-K filing for fiscal 2026, filed with the SEC on November 3, shows research and development spending of $45.765 billion, up 32% from $34.55 billion a year earlier. Apple attributes the increase mainly to higher infrastructure-related costs, including investments in artificial intelligence.

There is also pressure on the Siri team: Gurman reports that Mike Rockwell, the Vision Pro creator who now leads Siri engineering, continues to seriously consider stepping down — possibly as soon as next year.

What is fact and what is a report

Editorial classification: REPORT. The account of Ternus pressing Federighi and the target of an agentic Siri in 2027 comes from a Bloomberg report based on unnamed sources, and Apple has not commented. AppleInsider judged that the report contains contradictions and should be taken with a grain of salt. Confirmed facts are the leadership change on September 1, 2026, the Siri AI beta launch with iOS 27, the opening to developers on November 3, and Apple's 10-K figures.

This follows earlier Geekiki coverage: Siri AI opening to developers in iOS 27.3 (Siri AI iOS 27.3: Apple opens it to all developers) and the profile of Apple's new leadership (John Ternus, Apple CEO: no AI just for AI's sake).

Image credit: Craig Federighi at Web Summit 2021 in Lisbon. Photo by Harry Murphy / Web Summit via Sportsfile, available on Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons license (CC BY).

Sources

Transparency: this article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence, cross-checking public posts and internet sources. The information was verified against the original sources cited below; please consult them to confirm the details.

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